Today, I took my 2013 Oasis out for the first time under sail. Bottom line, a sail kit is a must for all Mirage Drive boats. I have owned and sailed small boats (Sunfish, Capri 14, and Prindle 16) most of my adult life, and I can see many adventures with my Oasis (Blew Maru) in the future.

From today's sail, I can see how a sail furler and a main sheet block and cleat will make sailing Blew Maru a more efficient and comfortable experience. I've seen mucho You Tube videos on various DIY furlers and block and cleat systems. I'm looking at the sail PVC furler and a single block and clam cleat system for the main sheet, but I'm open to ideas if you have a reliable, simple idea that you believe is better.

One issue I did notice today was my right foot catching on the sail stay bungee when attached to it's anchor post. Once I make the furling tube, I'm sure this issue will disappear. However, until then, any advice to prevent my foot from using this bungee as a bass guitar string?

From today's tracking, I don't believe I will need an AMA (or other outrigger) system. The Oasis is a big boat and handles wind and rough water well.

Is it the one that holds the bottom of the sail down? If so, then on my Adventure - not the same boat I agree - the fastening point is a button on the inside front wall of the cockpit directly below and in line with the mast (so that you can see it if you sit in the seat and sight directly forward and between the pedal shafts of the drive).

Is the configuration different on your Oasis, because I can't see how just one foot would be hitting it unless the arrangement is different and off-centre...

Sorry if i'm using incorrect sailing terms, but you hit the nail on the head. I'm not really bugged by the noise (it's minor), but rather concerned with any ware that may result. From the videos I have seen, the bungee is replaced with a line from the sail to the furler. I'm sure this upgrade will eliminate my concern.

I'm off the Mission Bay today for another fun filled day, so a quick stop by Fastlane Sailing might be a good idea.

I've kept my sail rig simple because I don't want anymore lines or other items cluttering up the cockpit of my Oasis. However adding in the furler and cleats as I've seen on the pictures and videos from this site indicates that they really work well. I just do the same thing by hand which takes a little longer but what the heck it gets the job done. I usually have my peddles set at 6 for general peddling when I'm not sailing. When I am sailing the peddles will clip the downhaul bungee from either side depending on where the wind is coming from. To prevent that I just set the peddles back to 5 and don't depress the peddles as far down when using them and the sail at the same time. That has solved the problem for me. It will probably work for you as well. I've noticed in the videos that many of the self made furlers still have the same downhaul bungee in use for the same purpose and in the same configuration as the stock sail set-up. I hope you enjoy sailing your Oasis as much as I've enjoyed mine.

A couple days ago, I took my wife and dog out at Mission Bay. First time sailing with them and we had a great time. We are rooks with Mirage Drive boats and are still getting comfortable working together with minimal effort. We both have a great deal of boating/sailing hours many miles on a tandem bicycle, so we got that going for us. All of us are digging our Oasis (Blew Maru).

I'm feeling you concerning extra/unnecessary line and hardware. I'm looking to fine tune the balance between extra line and hardware, effort, and an organized cockpit. One aspect I learned on this last outing...have forward mainsheet control of the sail (mainsheet control from behind doesn't feel natural to me).

Mike, I took a look at the picture of the 2013 Oasis (mine is a 2010 older style) on the Hobie site. Initially I ran my sheet to the rear pad eye and back forward to the seat. Like you I hated the feeling of the sheet coming from behind. I also didn't like how stiff the sheet felt just going through the pad eye. Many of the forums topics discussed adding blocks to make sheeting easier. I purchased two Harken blocks and 2 stainless carabineers. I attached one to the rear pad eye and the second one to a plastic pad eye that's used to leash the mirage drive to the kayak. That way I had the sheet coming towards me from the front, In looking at the 2013 picture it looks like the plastic pad eye is near is near the hatch (mine is in front on the right of the drive unit). If that's the case it would be a good place to attach a second block. That should make it real easy for you to direct your sheet and find a place to mount a cam cleat.

By the way, I used to get over to Mission Bay every so often and just loved sailing in that area. There was some little rental place I'd go to and rent either a Lido or Catalina 14 for a couple of hours. What a great place to catch a breeze! Hope you get your boat set up just the way you want. They're pretty good sailors. Happy sailing!

My second boat was a Capri 14. It was way fun and only let her go to get a Prindle 16. That was a mistake. Sure Cats go faster, but for pure sailing enjoyment, I prefer mono hulled daysailors. However, I did sell the Prindle to get Blew Maru. So in the long haul, I guess it wasn't a mistake.

I'm fortunate to live in Southern Cal. There are so many places to enjoy the water (lakes, bays, and open water). And of course, there's Baja!

Today was my first day sailing anything ever. I have an 2013 oasis with the sail kit and ama.

How do you turn wind into forward movement? I had wind, it caught the sail, but until the wind REALLY picked up, I didnt seem to build up any speed at all. Do you want the sail really arched or hold fairly straight?

I have one block on the stern for sail. I used my right had constantly tighten and loosen. is this correct form, or should I add another block forward to pull back to me?

Did you receive and read the Sailing Tip paper that comes with the Sail Kit? It's basic stuff about sailing. I also recommend that you take a basic sailing class.

The "telltales" (ribbons) are wind indicators. They'll tell you what the wind is doing around your sail. Glance at them a lot at first. As you develop your feel for the wind, you will glance less often.

As for your Amas, are they dragging through the water. The deeper in the water = more drag. Try to keep drag as minimal as possible. You may want to try a session without your Amas. When I first got my '13 Oasis, I was thinking of investing in a stabilizer system. I wanted to try sailing without one first. I'm a big guy (6'3"/220lbs) with mucho small boat sailing experience, so I wanted to see my weight and experience would work without stabilizers.

Now a little about speed. I went from a Prindle 16 (catamaran) to my Oasis. Major speed difference between the two boats. If you are looking for speed, trade tour Oasis in for a Hobie 16 or another catamaran.

Did you receive and read the Sailing Tip paper that comes with the Sail Kit? It's basic stuff about sailing. I also recommend that you take a basic sailing class.

The "telltales" (ribbons) are wind indicators. They'll tell you what the wind is doing around your sail. Glance at them a lot at first. As you develop your feel for the wind, you will glance less often.

As for your Amas, are they dragging through the water. The deeper in the water = more drag. Try to keep drag as minimal as possible. Longbikermike .....

I think with all the excitement of Kids,dogs,and new Kayaks;We may have lost the instructions

We had a slight wind that would flutter the telltails and catch the sail, but my buddy who was in my outback basically was drifting the same speed as I was (we were in a lake.) My Mams were fully up.As stated earlier it was only when the wind really picked up (had to be blowing 10 knotts or so) that I really seem to get going. I know that a sailboat can go faster than wind speed. But I am not sure if that applies to Kayaks. I guess I was thinking that if the sail was bowed and was catching the wind that I would go faster.And YES sailing lesson would help!

Check inside your sail bag, the sheet may still be in there. If not, try to contact your dealer or let me know and I will scan and email mine to you.

I'm not really expecting to much speed from the sail, but the experimentation to achieve maximal speed will be rewarding enough. Since all the Mirage Drive boats share the same sail, I'm thinking the Oasis (the heaviest of the fleet) will have a lesser ability to plane (hydrodynamic lift) compared to the other boats. Less planing ability = more drag = less speed.

This is also my first boat with the mast in the middle of boat. I may have sailing experience, but my understanding of mast placement and sailing speed is minimal. I'm doing Internet research, but I do prefer "hands on" knowledge. Personal experience is best instructor. My issue is not having a boat for comparison. Once I have my boat dialed in, I would like to compare it to a Revo 11 or Outback.

It's seems we have started our Mirage Drive Sailing Adventure at the same time. I was wondering if you would like to share our experiences? If so, feel free to email me at h2ojocke@hotmail.com. I'm heading out tomorrow with the goal of trying to dump. I've said before that dumping would take a conscience effort. I should have my answer tomorrow.

Check inside your sail bag, the sheet may still be in there. If not, try to contact your dealer or let me know and I will scan and email mine to you.

I'm not really expecting to much speed from the sail, but the experimentation to achieve maximal speed will be rewarding enough. Since all the Mirage Drive boats share the same sail, I'm thinking the Oasis (the heaviest of the fleet) will have a lesser ability to plane (hydrodynamic lift) compared to the other boats. Less planing ability = more drag = less speed.

This is also my first boat with the mast in the middle of boat. I may have sailing experience, but my understanding of mast placement and sailing speed is minimal. I'm doing Internet research, but I do prefer "hands on" knowledge. Personal experience is best instructor. My issue is not having a boat for comparison. Once I have my boat dialed in, I would like to compare it to a Revo 11 or Outback.

It's seems we have started our Mirage Drive Sailing Adventure at the same time. I was wondering if you would like to share our experiences? If so, feel free to email me at h2ojocke@hotmail.com. I'm heading out tomorrow with the goal of trying to dump. I've said before that dumping would take a conscience effort. I should have my answer tomorrow.

Sounds good mike. Today we went out again. I also did find the hobie instruction sheet. I will say that at this point I am still doing something way wrong. If not, I am highly disappointed with the Sail Kit. When "running" I could not outpace my wife in our outback. It was my daughter & me in the Oasis. Yes, technically I WAS sailing. But when Close Hauled, it seems barley more than a drift, and no where near fast enough to keep up with the wife who was merely sauntering into the wind with the OB. Most of today was on a larger lake with a head wind and we had a destination. I was close hauled and tacking most of the way (or so I thought) and for the most part had to pedal to get there. I paid close mind the entire time on the tell tails and had them flat against the sail going backward, but never really experienced a "lift" or forward momentum feeling from that. No the sail wasn't rattling in the wind, it was bowed out and was trying different methods of trimming to gain momentum and speed. When we turned around to head back the wind really picked up on us. We were scooting a long, but I think it was more the wind pushing as my wife without a sail was right along with us and barely kicking (she was moving the same pace without sail.)While we did thoroughly enjoy our evening, it seemed like I was holding the sail sheet and fatiguing my right hand for nothing as there was little feeling of purposeful movement of sail power. My expectation with the sail kits is that when deployed you would feel the boat heel over, and feel the movement of the boat. Not Hobie cat hanging off the side, but at least throwing up some sort of spray off the Amas. As of now, more study and experience is needed.

Is sailing tough to do (like learning to golf) or is it pretty simple and intuitive?

Basher15, One quick question. When you are sailing do you keep the mirage drives in and down (pedals together in the middle). The sail needs these to act like a center board. This converts the side push into forward motion. I found that this was hard for me to remember when I was starting out sailing my Outback at first.

Good Luck.

_________________“Remember life is short- eat dessert first.”The world is 70% water – So that means we should spend 70% more time sailing than mowing lawns!Larry

Basher15, One quick question. When you are sailing do you keep the mirage drives in and down (pedals together in the middle). The sail needs these to act like a center board. This converts the side push into forward motion. I found that this was hard for me to remember when I was starting out sailing my Outback at first.

Good Luck.

Yes we do.(I cant really tell what the 6 y/o is doing in front of me as she is busy yelling "Abandon Ship" and "Arrggh" half the time. )